Of what value are dyed string, disparate coins and beads? But when brought together and fashioned into necklaces, bracelets and rings, they become priceless pieces of jewelry, as proven by PICHULIK, a brand started in 2012 by Cape Townian Katherine-Mary Pichulik.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29844 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings.jpg 1023w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The inspiration for it came to her when backpacking in India. The 27-year-old had started her professional career as a pastry chef. During a hiatus in India, she started playing around with different materials that caught her eye, and then one day on a beach in Goa, she looked at the treasures she had handcrafted and decided to turn her talent into a business.
“For a moment I thought to myself, what if I actually had a jewelry brand?” says Pichulik.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29845 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik.jpg 682w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
When she returned from her trip, with no money and no resources, she started crafting different pieces of jewelry on the floor of her apartment, and decided she was her brand’s best promoter. Wearing her designs everywhere she went, she lured people to literally buy them off her.
“I was walking down Kloof street wearing one of these things I’ve made, and someone said ‘oh my gosh, where did you get that from’? I told them I made it and they asked to buy it from me. I sold it to them on the spot,” says Pichulik.
It was after this that Pichulik took PICHULIK places. She got a photographer-friend to snap a few pictures of her pieces. The photos were picked up by Miss Moss, a well-known blogger in Cape Town, and soon, Pichulik was commissioned to accessorize designer collections at fashion weeks.
Today, she has a team of 10 operating out of a 106 square meter studio, has a shop in Cape Town’s waterfront, and an online store that delivers her goods across the world. She also supplies the brand to boutiques, luxury game reserves and American clothing retailers such as Urban Outfitters.
“I really embody what I do and it’s really in line with what my values are, what my interests are, what my passion is and what I really resonate with deeply. The language is bold jewelry for bold women,” says Pichulik.
In just two years, PICHULIK’s Golden Fold necklace was nominated one of the most beautiful objects in South Africa at the 2013 Design Indaba held in Cape Town. In 2014, Pichulik was named Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year by Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa, and accessory designer of the year by African Fashion International.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29843 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve.jpg 1023w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
PICHULIK’s spring/summer 2015 collection is inspired by the architecture of North Africa and the Middle East. The colors and designs recall the religious talismans of the berbers of Morocco and the prayer satchels used in the region. Her dreams stretch beyond Africa to the rest of the world.

0002_PICSS03s-Curved-Ball-Earrings-Duplicates

Creating South  Africa’s  Most  Beautiful  Objects

Kirsten Goss, a Durban-born entrepreneur, jewelry designer and mother has quickly become an award-winning African brand with stores in Johannesburg and London. There’s no stopping the strong-willed, go-getting Goss who has high aspirations and wants to continue expanding her exclusive jewelry chain with Cape Town also in her sights.
Goss has agents in San Francisco and New York and was recently the new face of Bombay Sapphire in South Africa. She now plans to expand to Asia.
A qualified jewelry designer and gemologist, her first flagship store was opened in London in 2002 and she recently opened another in Johannesburg. In 2009, Goss opened a state-of-the-art goldsmith studio in Durban where six designers craft her jewelry.
The London-based Kirsten Goss gallery is based in the trendy area of South Kensington on a picturesque cobbled path. Exclusive collections are heavily embellished, simple cuts which grab your attention. The pieces appeal to the independent, sophisticated woman who wants something unique. The exquisite styles are breathtaking, the gems dazzling; silver and gold jewelry with embedded precious stones.
Being passionate about the designs is important. Goss is meticulous about her work. She makes sure that every individual piece is handcrafted and personally designed, to fulfill her pride in the Kirsten Goss brand.
It took several attempts to catch the driven jewelry entrepreneur, who we managed to track down in Hong Kong. She explains her latest plans to break into the Asian market with a “pop-up” style fair.
When starting her business she took the risk and established herself as a small boutique firm which has now gone international. “We are doing an unusual thing, most people use the wholesale route to get ahead,” says Goss.
She said that her grandmother, Erica Goss, influenced her to start her own business.
“My role model is my grandmother who was a real frontier lady. She was a well-educated, typical Irish living in Africa, very frontier-orientated. She was somebody who was well-traveled. She taught me a lot,” says Goss.
“I started my business in London when I had a small child and then moved back to South Africa and visited London every month. My grandmother taught me you could live anywhere in the world. It’s all about passion, it’s all about ambition, it’s all about you and I think she was somebody who I drew a lot of inspiration from in my life,” she adds.
The designer’s Scandinavian and Irish heritage and her South African upbringing have all played a major part in influencing her designs. The use of exuberant colors clearly shows how she is influenced by her African heritage.
Goss supports a number of charities including the Make A Difference (MAD) Foundation; Sunflower Fund (leukemia); Save the Children, Enkuliso and Ekujabuleni nursery schools and the Wildlands South Africa. Her father was active in rhino conservation.
She was recently asked to design 12 pieces for the Spirit of Liberty exhibition in London. She has designed pieces for the Royal Wedding and Prince Willliam’s special birthday party.
“My dream is to have five to six galleries around the world in different locations and everybody knows that when going to a Kirsten Goss gallery they will find a truly unique piece,” says Goss.

Tag: Jewelry

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